Sunday evening in sleepy Salt Lake City, the most incongruously named franchise in all of sports evened their second round series with the Los Angeles Kobettes, er, Lakers. With a thrilling 123-115 overtime victory, Utah tied Los Angeles at two games a piece and in doing so made a definitive statement that, yes friends, we have a real series on our hands.

A week ago the thought of the Lakers not advancing seemed like hearsay, as they had completely dominated their first two games at home. In Game 1 and 2, Los Angeles was executing on the offensive side of the ball with a level of fluidity that was incomparable, and Kobe Bryant appeared to be totally unstoppable. How quickly things seem to have turned then, as the two games in Salt Lake saw Los Angeles become stagnant in their ball movement and Bryant abandon core facets of the Triangle offense in favor of isolation clear-outs and pull-up jumpers. If nothing else, the trip to the 45th state has made the Lakers start to sweat and made Los Angeles diehards (this writer included) noticeably wary.

For their part, Hollywood’s team still needs only to take care of business at Staples Center to advance; a superior effort in Game 5 should be enough to topple a notoriously woeful road team and put LA back firmly in control of their own destiny. But there is no guarantee of that happening with the way the Jazz have been able to hit monumental shots down the stretch and completely control the glass As the purple and gold are still the favorites to win the series, we should perhaps examine the prospective outlook from their viewpoint in hopes of gaining a better understanding of what may potentially transpire on Wednesday night.

First, the five hazardous signs that have legions of Lakers faithful nervous (if not outright petrified):

Lack of Rebounding: With just 37.8 Los Angeles boards per game, Utah is currently out rebounding the Lakeshow by a considerable margin (46.3-37.8). Worse yet, they are absolutely demolishing them on the offensive glass, with a margin of 15.8 to 8.5. If Los Angeles is unable close this considerable gap, they will be forced to fight uphill and pray they shoot a lofty percentage from the floor. Given their size, length and athleticism, there is no excuse for the Lakers to be dominated in this way.

Kobe Bryant’s Back: Mamba’s sore lower back throws a serious curveball into the Lakers’ planning for Game 5, as there is simply no way to tell how much his mobility and quickness will be affected. “I can’t imagine it being worse than what it was [Sunday] night,” he told reporters on Monday while receiving electrical stimulation, ice, heat, massage and stretching. If Bryant is noticeably slowed, Utah can stay at home on LA’s shooters, creating contested shots and a formula for trouble.

Deron Williams: Were it not for Chris Paul, Williams would already hold the title of Best Point Guard Alive outright. As it stands, he still isn’t that far off. Williams has owned the Lakers’ backcourt for much of the four games so far, averaging a cool 21.5 ppg and 11.3 apg while shooting a .526 clip from three-point range. His control of the games’ tempo and velocity is irrefutable; the owner of a 4.09-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio for the series, he has set the table for Okur and Boozer alike down the stretch. Stopping him completely may be nonviable at this point, but Los Angeles must at least slow him down or run the risk of going golfing next week.

EngerySolutions Arena: Win or lose in Game 5, Utah will still be returning to a home crowd that has seen them go 41-5 this season. While LA is one of but four teams to have gone into Salt Lake and got a W this year, the idea of doing so in a do-or-die game is a daunting one to be sure, a truth that must weigh heavy on the Lakers’ minds. Should they not win Game 5, they would face an enormous task to bring the series back to LA.

The Return of Kobe’s Hero Complex: Bryant is renowned for wanting to “go it alone,” and much of the credit he has received this year as MVP is rooted in his ability to finally trust his teammates and not strive to win every game by himself. But old habits die hard, and in overtime in Game 4, Bryant reverted back to his lone crusader self. His stubbornness comes across clearly when one notices he is shooting an average of five three-pointers a game while only hitting .150 of the time. As brilliant as he’s been all playoffs (and all year), Bryant cannot afford a relapse now to his soloist-self.

Now, what of the indicators that suggest Bryant and his band of followers will carry the day and potentially the series? Here are five equally prosperous factors that hint at Los Angeles success:

Lamar Odom’s Ascension: With averages of 18.5 and 12.5, Lamar Odom has been simply brilliant. Never known for his late game heroics, they were precisely the reason Los Angeles was able to force OT on Sunday, as Odom went for 10 points in the fourth alone en route to 26 and 13. Shooting .581 from the floor through four games, Odom has shown how much more comfortable he is as a third option, for with stress and expectations removed, he is finally playing like the player Kupchak traded for back in 2004.

The Zen Master: Big Chief Triangle has 975 NBA wins for a reason. While Jerry Sloan is an outstanding coach in his own regard, a quick review of the two coaches’ Finals resume (Jackson: nine rings in 10 appearances; Sloan: zero in two) shows exactly why the Lakers hold tight to the knowledge that they have the best coach in the NBA on their side. Jackson has never lost a playoff series in which he took a 1-0 lead, a piece of trivia Los Angeles hopes is maintained.

Derek Fisher: Tatum’s dad is shooting an insane .717 Adjusted Field Goal Percentage ([(PTS - FTM)/FGA]/2) and an absurd 1.83 Points Per Shot. Perhaps most impressive though, is Fisher’s accuracy from long range, where he is shooting .643. He may only be the Lakers fourth leading scorer with 13.8 ppg, but what matters more is when Fisher scores, as his 10 straight points proved during the fourth quarter in Game 4. The 12-year veteran is the most clutch Laker not named after an expensive Japanese beef, and his late game heroics will show themselves again before the series is out.

Boozer’s Disappearing Act: In the regular season, this All-NBA 2nd teamer and All-Star certainly played his role as the “New Age Karl Malone” perfectly, averaging 21.1 and 10.4 on .547 shooting. Against the purple and gold though Boozer is hitting for only 16.5 points a contest (though his rebounding is up to 12.8, thanks largely to his 20 boards in Game 3). Boozer has yet to record a single block in the series and is only shooting .433 from the field, which is not exactly the stuff of legend. Then again, Malone too had a capacity for disappearing when it mattered most (the ’97 Finals anyone?), which is the one trait Sloan wishes Boozer didn’t emulate quite so well.

Kobe is Still Kobe: For all the noise of how poorly Bryant played in Game 4, the statline of the game’s best player still reflected genius: 33, 10, 8. For the series Bryant’s averages are absurd. At 34.8, 7.0 and 7.5 a game, his game has shown every part of why he received the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. The Hallmark of Bryant’s dominance is the 15.5 times a game he heads to the foul line. So long as he is healthy enough to get into the lane and attack the rim, and refuses the need to settle for pull-ups, there is simply no one on Utah capable of even slowing him down. As has so often been the case for Bryant, he alone is his own greatest adversary.

What materializes on Wednesday (and subsequently on Friday) is completely unpredictable and heavy questions still loom. Will Utah be able to bring the same intensity they show at home to a raucous Staples Center? How will Bryant’s back hold up under constant ball-pressure and double-teaming? And just which Carlos Boozer will show up?

By Thursday morning, we should be closer to some answers, though there is one thing that is already for certain: we the viewers have been treated to some phenomenally entertaining basketball.

Where amazing happens, indeed.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media